Skydio

The weather was less than ideal today, but we found a window to get some training in with the Skydio R10. Most of the session was spent doing simple things: flying under patrol cars, through obstacles, and focusing on smooth control. Nothing flashy, just reps. What struck me was how quickly everyone stopped talking about the drone and started talking about the capability. Operating an interior drone remotely from a workstation, with little more than an Xbox controller and a laptop, still feels very sci-fi. Today's reminder: slow is smooth, smooth is fast, and sometimes less is more for better results.

The 2026 NatSec100 Report is out! Now in its fourth iteration, the NatSec100 has become a trusted, data-driven view into the companies shaping the future of national security technology. This year’s report captures a market entering a new phase. NatSec innovation is no longer measured only by promise and private capital raised. Therefore, we are answering the harder question of which companies are translating that momentum into durability, adoption, and operational impact. For the first time, the 2026 NatSec100 incorporates government contracting activity directly into the ranking methodology, powered by data from Pryzm. That addition gives us a clearer view of which companies are building, selling, and delivering for the mission. It allowed us to have improved analysis and recommendations for how to keep the momentum going in a period of heightened innovation. Thank you to J.P. Morgan, our 2026 NatSec100 title sponsor, and to Pryzm for helping bring this year’s analysis to life. Full report here: natsec100.org Read the Tectonic exclusive: https://lnkd.in/gk3U9TqA Anduril Industries Antares Applied Intuition Astranis Space Technologies Cape Castelion CesiumAstro CHAOS Industries Code Metal Epirus Firestorm Forterra Govini Hadrian Hermeus HavocAI Integrate LeoLabs Machina Labs NODA AI Nominal Onebrief Picogrid PsiQuantum REGENT Relativity Space Saronic Technologies Shield AI True Anomaly Vannevar Virtualitics X-Bow Systems IQT Alumni Ventures Washington Harbour Partners LP Founders Fund Andreessen Horowitz Point72 Ventures

The Dallas Police Department’s new Drone as First Responder program officially launched today with eight remotely piloted drones based at Dallas Fire-Rescue stations across the City of Dallas. These drones are operated out of the Fusion/Real Time Crime Center and are designed to respond to calls for service in a two-mile radius from their base station. The base locations were selected based on heat maps of calls for service for both police and fire, placing them where they can potentially respond to the greatest number of calls. The pilots will be able to get to the scene quicker than in a squad car and begin to provide real-time intelligence and feedback to officers, as well as reduce the level of response or clear a call entirely if the incident has resolved. If a pilot sees a call in a drone’s response area where aerial intelligence can enhance officer safety, they can deploy a drone to provide critical updates to officers at the scene. Each drone is equipped with a thermal camera to help during nighttime operations, as well as a loudspeaker to make announcements to individuals on the ground. “I challenged our team to find innovative ways to continue improving our response times, and this new drone unit will not only keep officers free to respond to more calls, but provide real time updates as they are responding to calls,” said Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux. “Even during our training, our pilots were able to clear three holding calls in an hour with one drone. That alone proved their value to us, and I’m looking forward to seeing the benefits in both officer safety and response times.” Our public safety partners at Dallas Fire-Rescue will also be utilizing the Drone as First Responder program, with training for pilots underway. Under the new program, in the event of a reported structure fire, a drone will be dispatched to the scene ahead of arriving apparatus. This real-time aerial perspective will allow incident command to assess the size, scope, and intensity of a fire before firefighters even step off the apparatus. “Dallas Fire-Rescue is proud to collaborate with DPD on any initiative that will make our city safer,” said Justin Ball, Chief of Dallas Fire-Rescue. “By strategically docking the drones at our fire stations in high-demand areas, we are optimizing our response times and ensuring our tactics are more precise, while adding an extra layer of protection for the city.” This collaborative partnership between police and fire departments represents a major step forward in using smart-city technology to protect both residents and first responders.